Dive into Python
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Dive into Python (ISBN 1-59059-356-1), by Mark Pilgrim is a teach-by-example guide to the paradigms of programming in Python and modern software development techniques.
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[edit] Intended reader
Dive into Python assumes that the reader already knows a bit about programming, although not necessarily much about the Python programming language. This assumption may place the book out of reach of the first-time software developer. Although Python is a language through which it is possible to learn modern programming techniques, this book is not written with this intention.
[edit] Book style
The method of teaching used by the author is by example. Each example is brief and annotated. The annotations are combined with paragraphs of explanatory text.
One of the early example programs reads through a directory of MP3 files and lists the header information, such as artist, album, etc. This is an example of the "Python" way of doing things.[citation needed] The explanations generally describe how to modify an example to serve new purposes.
[edit] Beyond programming examples
The book also covers such topics as:
- object oriented programming
- documentation
- unit testing
- accessing and parsing HTML.
- accessing and parsing XML
. Examples are provided for each of these topics.
[edit] External links
- The text of Dive into Python may be downloaded freely.
- Dive into Mark, Mark Pilgrim's home page.
- How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Learning with Python, an introduction to programming with Python (ISBN 0-9716775-0-6).
- The official Python home page
